Within minutes and a couple of miles, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott went from talking about Obamacare and greenhouse gases to fielding questions about his dog and his favorite color.

Abbott was in town Tuesday afternoon to endorse fellow Republican Jim Landtroop for District 85 state representative before taking time to visit with students at Plainview Christian Academy.

Close to two dozen people gathered inside a hangar at Plainview-Hale Country Airport where Abbott threw his support behind Landtroop in his bid to unseat Democrat Joe Heflin in the election, early voting for which is going on now. Election Day is Nov. 2.

"I'm here for two reasons, and that is because Plainview and the Panhandle mean a whole lot to me and a whole lot to the state of Texas," Abbott said. "And the second reason . . . is to let . . . everyone in Plainview and the Panhandle know that I . . . endorse and support Jim Landtroop to be the next state representative from this area."

Abbott criticized the federal government on several counts, including states' rights issues "brought on by our federal government's overreaching power grab" as well as the Affordable Health Care for America Act against which Texas and other states have filed a constitutional challenge.

"Obamacare tramples the liberties of Americans unlike any legislation ever before because this is the first time Congress has forced Americans to go out and buy a good or service, in this case health care insurance," he said. "If they can force you to buy health care insurance, they can force you to buy anything. That's un-American, and I need to put a stop to it."

Abbott cited a "big ruling in our favor last week" in Florida as "a step along the pathway that will lead us all the way to the United States Supreme Court that will ultimately decide the case."

Meanwhile, Abbott criticized Heflin for not lending support "in combatting the scourge of child predators" or with border security.

"Nowhere was there any support from Rep. Heflin helping me . . . better protect you and the people of the state of Texas," Abbott said. "I know this is another area where the new-to-be Rep. Landtroop will be working by my side to help you and to help Texans be a whole lot safer."

The attorney general also said Heflin denies problems with voter fraud and election fraud.

"He needs to wake up and learn the facts," Abbott said. "My office has already prosecuted at least 40 cases of election fraud and voter fraud across the state."

Abbott added that, "West Texas deserves conservative representation in the Texas House, and I know we can trust Jim to stand firm on the issues when it counts.

"I need Jim Landtroop in Austin, Texas, working side by side with me to help preserve, protect and defend the values of Plainview, Texas."

Landtroop said he appreciated Abbott's endorsement.

". . . He is a man of faith and conviction who has always done the right thing on behalf of Texas," Landtroop said. "From successfully defending the Ten Commandments on the Texas Capitol grounds to protecting our children from child predators, he is the real deal.

" . . . I look forward to locking arms with the attorney general and conservative legislators on behalf of West Texans as we stand up to Washington, D.C., on issues that affect HD 85 like Obamacare and EPA regulations on our agriculture and oil/gas industry."

Abbott - who is up for re-election, opposed by Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky and Libertarian Jon Roland - shifted gears when he spoke at PCA, where he found a gym full of American flag-waving students.

Abbott, who described himself as the "lawyer for the state of Texas," first told students why he is in a wheelchair, explaining that shortly after graduating law school an "80-foot oak tree" fell on him while he was jogging, paralyzing him. But he said his wheelchair does not define him.

"The truth is we all have challenges, whether it be being in a wheelchair or something else. The point, though, is that our lives are not defined by how we're challenged but how we respond to those challenges."

Abbott, who has a pre-teen daughter, stressed three things to students: being careful on the Internet and watching out for people who want to harm them; not texting while driving; and believing in God, saying his office tries "to protect your ability to have that relationship with God.

"We want to make sure you get to inherit the same things (previous generations) inherited," he said.

Abbott then spent several minutes answering questions, most of which came from elementary students and involved everything from his border collie, Oreo, to his "bodyguards."

Freshman Meredith Mulliken asked Abbott a more mature question about his thoughts on border security.

"The first role of government should be to keep people safe," Abbott responded, adding that Texans are seeing "growing threats from drug cartels" in Mexico. "We must increase our efforts to protect against those threats," he said.

(Contact Kevin Lewis at 806-296-1353 or kwlewis@hearstnp.com. Follow him on Facebook.)